Finca Buenvino Review

Sam and Jeannie Chesterton have been welcoming guests to the wonderful Finca Buenvino since 1986. The main house, Spanish in style with English and Italian touches, is perched on a hillside overlooking a valley of cork oak and chestnut trees. This area is a protected natural park, with unspoiled scenery and relatively little tourism.

The décor of the house is homely and eclectic, with family portraits, colourful walls and antique furniture. Books and magazines arent just placed decoratively on tables, theyre there to be read. The large sitting room has huge windows looking over the forest, and squishy sofas covered with throws, kilims (and often their dogs). Outside on the shady terrace, pots of pink geraniums, vines and aromatic herbs create a romantic Mediterranean ambience, and the walls are covered in flowering climbers such as jasmine. The saltwater infinity pool is a high point, with a glorious view to the woodland below.

This is a family home with unpretentious taste, so rooms are comfortable and traditional, though with a personal feel: oriental wallhangings, photographs, and endless shelves of books; two suites have sofabeds, handy for children. Three cottages on the estate, each with its own small pool, can also be rented; even if youre staying in one, you dont have to miss out on Jeannies dinners. The whole main house can be taken by parties during July and August, complete with cook and domestic help.

Eating and drinking are done the Spanish way: everyone sits down together (after an aperitif, naturally)  guests, family and friends  to enjoy Jeannies superb cooking, good wine, and lively conversation. The Chestertons grow their own certified-organic vegetables, keep their own chickens and pigs, and have apple, pear, quince and fig trees, all of which ingredients are used in the dishes, as well as local game and other seasonal produce such as mushrooms foraged from the woodland. Jeannie also runs cooking courses, explaining the Mahgrebi (North African) influences in southern Spanish recipes, many of which date from Moorish times.

Highs:

- The warm welcome from Sam and Jeannie and the friendly house party ambience

Facilities and Important Info at Finca Buenvino

Child-friendly: Better for older children, due to steep drops, though cots are available, and two suites have separate rooms with sofabeds

Dogs welcome: Usually not, as their own dogs are territorial

Restaurant & bar: Cordon Bleu-trained Jeannie cooks the meals, using local produce, some of it home-grown or reared. Meals are eaten together either in the wood-panelled dining room, the conservatory or on the terrace. Wine is included with dinner, and theres an honesty bar

Location: In an isolated spot in the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park, surrounded by forests of cork oak and chestnut trees; this is ideal walking and mountain biking country (they have bikes you can borrow). The nearest village is tiny Los Marines; a little further is Aracena, a beautiful hilltown topped by a Moorish castle. You can explore the caves called Las Grutas de las Maravillas, with cathedral-like chambers and multicoloured stalactites and stalagmites; classic 1950s adventure movie Journey to the Centre of the Earth was filmed there. Seville, with its exquisite Alcazar Palace, vast Cathedral, and myriad excellent tapas bars, is just over an hours drive away. The beaches of Huelva are about the same distance, while the sherry bodegas of Jerez de la Frontera are a little further.

Getting there: Seville airport is 70 minutes away, Jerez two hours and Faro two and a half hours. The main roads are good, but the last part of the journey is down a dirt track; tricky after rain, or when its dark.

Inside Track

Inside track: Finca Buenvino

Best room: In summer, the Pool Room, as you can have the wonderful infinity pool all to yourself early morning and late at night. Otherwise, the Pink Room  its old-fashioned bathtub offer spectacular views across the woodland.

Best dish: Anything with the famous local Iberian pork.

Insider fact: Bryan Ferry and European royalty have enjoyed the Fincas informal atmosphere.

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